Identify this bizarre tripartite stemware

August 24, 2014 7:03 PM

Can anyone identify this bizarre piece of stemware? The three cups are connected at the bottom, so filling one cup fills all three. A set of 12 was given to a friend as a wedding gift with no explanation. image
posted by boots to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Is it actually a vase given in error? I'm not sure why she would need twelve unless she had a catering company and could use it as a centrepiece for a table. Not sure how you'd drink out of it . Maybe ask the gift giver.
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:20 PM on August 24, 2014

Are you sure it's not for putting candles in?
posted by taff at 7:22 PM on August 24, 2014

Maybe it's used in a Christian religious ceremony? Since there are 3 cups.
posted by dilaudid at 7:23 PM on August 24, 2014

Best answer: It's a triple shot glass, for drinking three shots at once. There are vintage ones with various liquor branding available on etsy, eBay, etc. why you would need/want 12 of these things is beyond me.
posted by juliapangolin at 7:40 PM on August 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

But surely they spill if you drink them at once?
posted by taff at 7:43 PM on August 24, 2014

Response by poster: I think juliapangolin has it, though it's still an open question why anyone would want twelve. It's actually counterintuitively easy to drink out of, btw.
posted by boots at 7:48 PM on August 24, 2014

I have no idea if they spill. Evidence that at least some people think they're for drinking from:
https://www.etsy.com/listing/196758797/vintage-finlandia-vodka-triple-stem-bowl
http://m.bonanza.com/listings/vintage-goldschlager-triple-shot-shotglass-blown-glass-spouts-red-stem-gold-base/145578535
https://www.etsy.com/listing/65511979/three-fluted-goldschlager-vintage-shot
posted by juliapangolin at 7:49 PM on August 24, 2014 [1 favorite]

This question had someone trying to figure out the name and origin, but was unfortunately never answered.
posted by MsMolly at 7:51 PM on August 24, 2014

Oh, they all pour through the stem into the one you're drinking out of I guess? Ok I want one now!
posted by ThatCanadianGirl at 7:52 PM on August 24, 2014 [2 favorites]

That would make a neat hanging lamp with a tiny led in each cone.
posted by hortense at 9:23 PM on August 24, 2014

It's known as a fuddling cup. Here's an attractive early example from the V&A, with a short explanation. It seems an odd wedding gift, but maybe somebody thought the interlinked stems meant 'joined forever'.
posted by verstegan at 12:29 AM on August 25, 2014 [5 favorites]